The Global Cost of Diabetes

- Jun 13, 2017

The largest study ever done on diabetes levels around the world revealed last year that the global cost of diabetes has reached $825 billion. Exposure to blue light at night has been found to increase the risk of obesity and diabetes - and with the rise of conventional LEDs in recent years, part of the increased diabetes cost could be due to increased blue light exposure.

Number of adults with diabetes reaches 422 million worldwide

For immediate release: April 6, 2016

Boston, MA -The global cost of diabetes is now 825 billion dollars per year, according to the largest ever study of diabetes levels across the world.

The research, which was led by scientists from Imperial College London, and involved Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the World Health Organization, and nearly 500 researchers across the globe, incorporated data from 4,4 million adults in most of the world’s countries. The research team has also created interactive maps and other visuals that show the data for each country, and how they compare to each other.

The study, published in the journal The Lancet, compared diabetes levels among adult men and women from 1980 to 2014. Diabetes results in a person being unable to regulate levels of sugar in their blood, and increases the risk of heart and kidney disease, vision loss, and amputations.

The team adjusted their results to account for diabetes becoming more common as a person ages and for some countries having older populations. Using age-adjusted figures, they found that in the last 35 years, global diabetes among men has more than doubled-from 4.3% in1980 to 9% in 2014-after adjusting for the effect of aging. Meanwhile diabetes among women has risen from 5% in 1980 to 7.9% in 2014. This rise translates as 422 million adults in the world with diabetes in 2014-which has nearly quadrupled since 1980 (108 million).

The study follows previous work by the same Wellcome Trust-funded team that studied global obesity levels and published in The Lancet last week

The data also revealed that the age- adjusted levels of diabetes in 2014 were lowest in some countries in northwestern Europe, where around 4% of women and 6% of men have diabetes. The prevalence of diabetes was highest in Polynesia and Micronesia, where more than one in five adults has the condition. Overall, low- and middle­ income countries had the largest rise in diabetes levels over the 35-year period.

The team also calculated the annual cost of diabetes- which included the cost of treating and managing the disease and its complications, such as limb amputations. This was calculated in International Dollars. The global cost was 825 billion dollars per year, with the largest cost to individual countries being in China ($170 billion), the US ($105 billion), and India ($73 billion). The authors added that the calculation did not include work days lost due to diabetes, which would make the costs far greater if incorporated.

The study also found that:

Diabetes has increased most dramatically in Pacific island nations and in the Middle East and North Africa region, which now have the highest diabetes levels in the world. In Polynesia and Micronesia, where prevalence is highest, more than one in five adults have diabetes. In Nauru and American Samoa, the number is nearly one in every three men and

In the US in 2014, 2% of men and 6.4 % of women had diabetes, maldng the US1 rank114th for men and 146th for women in the world. The number of US men with diabetes has increased by more than two thirds since 1980, when 4.7% had the disease. Among women in 19801 4.3% had diabetes.

Among high-income countries, the rise in diabetes was relatively small in western Europe, especially among women. Diabetes was lowest in Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Belgium, and the

After age-adjustment, 6.6% of men and 4.9% of women in the UK had diabetes in 2014. UK men were 169th in the world (out of 200) in terms of diabetes prevalence, and 33rd in Europe (out of 43 nations). In comparison, UK women were 181st in the world, and 29th in

One half of the 422 million adults with diabetes in 2014 lived in five countries: China, India, the US, Brazil, and

If current trends continue, over 700 million adults worldwide would be affected with diabetes by

The study did not differentiate between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, as this wasn't included in most of the raw data. At least 85-90% of diabetes cases are type 2.

Professor Majid Ezzati, senior author of the study, from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London and an adjunct professor of global health at Harvard Chan School, said: "This is the first time we have had such a complete global picture about diabetes-and the data reveals the disease has reached levels that can bankrupt some countries' health systems. The enormous cost of this disease-to both governments and individuals-could otherwise go towards life essentials such as food and education."

He added that until we find effective ways of addressing the global obesity epidemic, the key to tackling the diabetes crisis is focusing on individuals who are at high risk of the condition .

"We need financially accessible and effective health systems that can highlight those at high risk of diabetes or at pre-diabetes stage. Healthcare staff can then deliver medication and lifestyle advice to delay or even prevent the onset of the condition, as has been done in some countries in western Europe," Ezzati said.

Professor Goodarz Danaei, co- lead author of the study and an assistant professor of global health at Harvard Chan School, said: 11The most important risk factor for diabetes is obesity. Yet global obesity levels are soaring out of control.

He also added that genetics and fetal and early life conditions may play a role in why some countries seem to have much higher rates of diabetes: "There is increasing evidence that the interaction of genes and the environment plays a role in diabetes. For example, certain genotypes may increase the risk of diabetes especially in people with unhealthy lifestyles. In addition, inadequate nutrition during pregnancy and in early life may increase the risk of diabetes later in life. Therefore, long- term diabetes prevention should address nutrition in every stage of life.

The study was funded by the Welkome Trust.

"Worldwide trends in diabetes since 1980: a pooled analysis of 751 population - based studies with 4·4 million participants," NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, The Lancet, April 6, 2016, dx.doi.org/10.1016/ s 0140-6736(16)00618- 8.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people's lives - not only making scientific breakthroughs,but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan School teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard- MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America's oldest professional training program in public health.